Translational NeuroElectronics Lab
Designing and developing electronics to better understand the brain
About Us
“Without stones there is no arch” -Marco Polo
Dion Khodagholy, PhD
Associate Professor
Dion Khodagholy is an Associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University in New York City. He received his Master’s degree from the University of Birmingham (UK) in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering. This was followed by a second Master’s degree in Microelectronics at the Ecole des Mines. He attained his PhD in Microelectronics at the Department of Bioelectronics (BEL) of the Ecole des Mines (France). His postdoctoral research at New York University, Langone Medical Center was focused on large-scale cortical acquisition and analysis.
His research explores the interface of electronics and the brain in the context of both applied and discovery sciences, with the ultimate goal of new innovations in device engineering and neuroscience methods to improve diagnosis and treatment of neuropsychiatric disease.
Zifang (Frank) Zhao, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Email: zz2636(at)columbia(dot)edu
Zifang Zhao is a post-doctoral fellow in the lab. He received his B.Sc. in Basic medical science and Electrical Engineering from Peking University (China). After graduation, he joined Dr. Wan group at Neuroscience Research Institute of Peking University for the PhD in neuroscience. During his PhD, he joined Dr. Buzsaki's lab in New York University as a visiting student.
His current research focuses on the development and application of high-density miniaturized neural interface in studying large-scale neural dynamics.
Anastasis Polyravas, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Email: ap4242(at)columbia(dot)edu
Anastasis is a post-doctoral researcher in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University. Originally from Greece, Anastasis received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) in electrical engineering. After graduating, he pursued a Ph.D. at the University of Cambridge where he worked at the Bioelectronics Laboratory, studying the device physics of bioelectronic devices. His current research is focused on investigating the effects of biocompatible polymer films to identify the mechanisms leading to the emergence of cognitive function across brain maturation.
Hyung Joon Shim, PhD
Post-Doctoral Fellow
Hyung Joon Shim is post-doctoral researcher in the Translational Neuroelectronics lab, Department of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University. He received his B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering, Chemical and Biological Engineering from Seoul National University in Korea. After graduation, he joined Prof. Dae-Hyeong Kim's lab at Seoul National University and received Ph.D. with thesis "Development of skin-like electronics using mechanical design strategies and intrinsically stretchable materials". His current research focuses on the development and application of soft electronic materials for neural interface.
Claudia Cea
PhD Candidate
Email: cc4387(at)columbia(dot)edu
Claudia Cea is a PhD student in the Department of Electrical Engineering at Columbia University. She comes from Italy, where she completed her Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Pisa. She pursued her Masters of Science degree in Bioengineering in San Diego, focusing her research on the development of novel origami-based neural probes for epidural and intradural recording, as well as, neurotransmitter detection. Her current work at Translational NeuroElectronics Lab focuses on the development of fast and sensitive soft bioelectronics devices that interact with signals generated by the neural tissue.
Prawesh Dahal
PhD Candidate
Email: prawesh(dot)dahal(at)columbia(dot)edu
Prawesh Dahal is a PhD student in the Department of Electrical Engineering. He received his B.S. in Engineering and Physics from Trinity College, CT. In his undergraduate research, Prawesh was involved in the nonlinear and chaotic analysis of hippocampal REM sleep EEG. His current interest lies in the development of neural interface devices to better understand the human brain. In his free time, Prawesh enjoys doing art, especially drawing pen and ink architectural sketches. He is also very passionate about cooking and learning new languages.
Han Yu
PhD Candidate
Email: hy2562(at)columbia(dot)edu
Han Yu is a graduate student at Columbia University. She is now pursuing her PhD degree in Electrical Engineering. She received B.S. in Physics from Fudan University and M.S. in EE from Columbia University. Since she joined Translational NeuroElectronics Lab, she has been working on a couple of projects - both on electrophysiological analysis and device design for clinical use. Her current work involves studying the emergence of neural network in neonatal rodents. Han is excited about the field of neuroscience and its ability to apply all kinds of cutting-edge technologies to obtain better understanding of brain.
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Liang is a graduate student working towards a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. He comes from Shenzhen, China. In 2018, Liang received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical & Electronics Engineering from Tel Aviv University, Israel. For his undergraduate project, Liang joined Prof. Yosi Shacham-Diamand’s group as an researcher to perform EIS and Van der Pauw measurements on SAM-enhanced semiconductor devices. At the Translational NeuroElectronics Lab, Liang investigates brain states of neonatal rodents using neural electrophysiology, and build electronics for clinical use. Liang hopes to continue research at the intersection of Electrical Engineering and Neuroscience.
Liang Ma
PhD Candidate
Email: lm3397(at)columbia(dot)edu
Onni Rauhala
PhD Candidate
Email: o(dot)rauhala(at)columbia(dot)edu
Onni is a graduate student in Columbia University's Electrical Engineering working towards his PhD. Originally from Finland, Onni is a graduate from the College of Biological Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities where he got his B.Sc. in neuroscience with a minor in anthropology. His past research experience includes behavioral studies in rodents utilizing optogenetics and electrophysiological methods as well as materials projects for improved histological procedures in neuroscience. Currently, Onni's research work is split between investigating learning and memory in spatial navigation and object recognition using rodent models, and developing biocompatible implants for neural recordings.
Duncan Wisniewski
PhD Candidate
Email: djw2169(at)columbia(dot)edu
Duncan is pursuing a PhD in Electrical Engineering at Columbia University. He received a Bachelor of Wireless Engineering as well as a Bachelor of Arts in psychology at Auburn University and received a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Columbia university. During his undergraduate degrees he researched satellite communication as a part of the QUEST program and completed a research fellowship focused on motor learning. Duncan's current research involves developing materials and devices for neural interfaces. Duncan hopes to continue researching biocompatible neural devices as he earns his PhD.
Alexander Ranschaert
Graduate Student
Email: anr2157(at)columbia(dot)edu
Alexander (Alex) Ranschaert is a graduate student at Columbia University, currently pursuing a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering. He previously obtained BSc. and MSc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Ghent University in Belgium, where he specialized in communication systems and machine learning. He has been working on an organic wireless powering system for compact neural recording devices in rodent models at the Translational NeuroElectronics Lab. In the future, he wishes to continue working on and improving neural interfaces.
